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Convex posted:I remember in about 2002 when every game had to have Havok physics, so Max Payne would run around knocking over hundreds of paint tins, toilet rolls and cardboard boxes like a human bowling ball Do games even use physics anymore? Maybe it's something I just don't notice, but yea that era 2002-5 every game felt like it had to show off it's Physics engine in the most incredible way(s). For example, I remember the physics in Halo 2 doing some wonky things to the death animations while playing MP, such as letting you chain-reaction explode bodies way high into the air. Fun times.
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Mar 24, 2017 15:56
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fishmech posted:Oh yeah totally. You know how many copies of Windows 95 they sold in its first year? 40 million. In comparison Windows 3.0 had taken a full year to sell 4 million (eventually ending up around 6 million total before being pulled for Windows 3.1), and Windows 3.1 got through its first 3 million sales in 2 months (eventually reached 20-30 million copies by the time it was discontinued). Yea I hear everyone talk about DOS and 3.1 but for many, many people their first PC experience came with Windows 95. My family grew up solidly middle-class, but we didn't get our first computer until 1995 specifically because of Windows 95 and my Dad getting jazzed about all the commercials. I remember he went all out too, shelling out a couple grand on an IBM 486 with dual detached speakers and CD-ROM! This was right around what many consider to be the start of the golden age of PC gaming, and it's no coincidence it occurred when Windows 95/CD-ROMs were getting mainstream.
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May 2, 2017 19:19
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I realize this might be anathema to this thread, but I reinstalled and played Halo PC for the first time in a decade. I'm on a bit of a nostalgia trip since I finished Doom 4 a few months ago. (Recently beat RTCW, original Doom, Half-Life) First, I have apparently taken for granted automated patching, because it took me some time to locate the official patches / download for custom edition Second, Bungie had apparently patched this game as recently as 2014, which is nice, considering if they hadn't it would have died with the Gamespy server shut downs. They even fixed the Nvidia active-camo bug. I remember this drove me insane back in 2003, but still perplexed it took a decade to fix. They even added additional monitor resolutions, so I can run it at my monitor's native res! So after I installed it and all the latest patches, I fired up the Custom Edition, loaded the multiplayer, and to my surprised saw it has a 1,000 plus people still playing with plenty of server options. Whoa. Impressions: 1) I forgot how much fun blowing things up in Halo was. Explosions do massive damage, and the rudimentary physics leads to some hilarious results. Gearbox upped this by adding the Plasma canon and rocket warthog, and most servers seem to have the rocket launcher as a default config. There is also never a shortage of grenades. Certainly leads to some insane carnage when you have 16v16 on some of the smaller maps (Think Battlecreek) 2) The maps Gearbox added are, for the most part, excellent. They are simple, with wide spaces and easy paths and were definitely designed for 16v16 in mind. I especially like Death Island and Timerland 3) LLAAAGGGGGGGGG. Maybe I don't remember right, maybe its the netcode, but this game lags bad online, even on servers where I ping 32ms. For the most part I can work with it, and it may be just because its a 14 year old port of a 16 year old game, but its really hard to get a "smooth" MP game going. 4) SLOW. Many server's have added a "sprint" option, but I had forgotten how slow the movement speed is in Halo. This...actually isn't that big of an issue, and I think plays well as it forces people to use the vehicles for transport, which in turn helps to encourage some level of teamwork. At the end of the day though, it's still fun! I really fell in love with the original Halo when it was released. I always considered the Multiplayer of the PC port to be a gem, and in my opinion far superior to Halo 2/3 multiplayer on Xbox live. Maybe this is bias since I've always been a PC gamer, but I always felt that Halo really shined on PC, terrible netcode aside. All in all, it's Multiplayer is a hark back to a simpler time. If I wish to play a simple game of CTF and not worry about stats, leaderboards, or customization, Halo PC fits that niche right alongside classics such as Quake and UT.
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May 8, 2017 14:46
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skasion posted:Yeah, the explosions are one of the many many things that I recall being disappointed by in Halo 2 back when it came out. In the first game grenades are a serious threat that deny huge amounts of space and can one-shot the player if they're at point blank. The rocket is a holy terror (especially the rocket Flood in the campaign who don't give a poo poo if they blow themselves up). In Halo 2 the explosives feel like toys. It's the simple things sometimes. If i could pin point one reason why I dislike the sequels much more than the original (other the fact they never got a PC release...no Halo 2 Vista doesn't count) it's they severely nerfed the grenades. In Halo the lack of movement speed is more than made up by the fact that you can clear a whole room with grenades and pistol combo. A single grenade could do the trick. You also got to carry an insane number of them, AND you could chuck them half way across the map. Once you got Grenade-Pistol-Melee combos down the game could be ridiculously fun. Bungie took this away in the sequels. For example, in Halo you could tag an elite with a Plasma, then watch as the AI panics and runs around the room into a group of his "friends". The resulting explosion would take them all out, and if there are grenades laying on the ground the resulting chain reaction could really cause some chaos. This was also true for multiplayer! So in Halo 2 imagine my disappointment when I stuck an elite with a plasma..in the middle of a crowded room. And the resulting wet fart of an explosion not only failed to kill anything standing next to him, but would also sometimes fail to kill the elite! The game, especially in MP, more often degraded into who could headshot with the BR the fastest.
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May 8, 2017 17:08
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Johnny Law posted:I'm a huge Halo fan, mostly from the singleplayer campaign but also had a bit of fun with the PC multiplayer when some of my Myth clan buddies hopped over to try that out for a while. I haven't run into any mouse issues, I think my hardware mouse acceleration is turned off by default int the settings? Also I'm still rocking some Logitech "gaming" mouse I bought waaaayyyyy back in 2006-2007. It is still rock solid and I've never had a reason to replace it. Perhaps because it is so old it is more compatible? From the link you posted it seems to be an issue affecting older games (developed pre-XP) and newer mice. Anyone else had/have this issue? On a side note if anyone wants to get a Goon server up for Halo PC, I'd be down. PM if interested and we can work out the details!
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May 8, 2017 18:21
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Yodzilla posted:I remember the Soldier of Fortune games being okay but also pretty rote and basic once you got past the over the top gore. The multiplayer in SoF2 was fun as hell though. The mission generator was ambitious but always felt flat. It's been over a decade since I've played either game, but I was a pretty big fan of the first one. It tries to take itself serious, but the main villain is ridiculous and, because of the age of the Quake II engine, the dismemberment engine actual makes the game over-the-top and hilarious. I especially remember the shotgun being way over-powered, and it would just rip dudes apart. The second game on the other hand... The Multiplayer, at the time, was really good. I played a lot of it and it was innovative, fast paced, and fun for a tactical action game pre-call of duty. It's the single player where it falls apart. I stated the first game tried to take itself serious, but due to the nature of the Quake II engine, it really prevented it from doing so, to the games benefit. However the Quake III Team Arena engine really let Raven delve fully into trying to make a serious, realistic game. For the most part, they failed. The first level is fun. I remember it takes place in the Columbia Jungle and you have AI that fights along side you, but it falls apart after that. I don't remember much about the game, because as I've stated its been over a decade and I never finished it, so perhaps I am being unfair. I just remember being bored, the story is boring, and this was the era where Raven really wanted forced stealth for some stupid reason. Infact since it is so hard for me to describe, I'll let these gameplay videos show what I mean: Solider of Fortune 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1leRZfJko8 Notice how John Mullins is just running around blowing dudes away with the shotgun. The death animations are exaggerated, and overall you feel like a stone-cold badass. Also note how fast-paced the game is. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrQjD8AaHcY This is Soldier of Fortune II. The game is much slower, methodical, and dull. Enemies just kind of...fall over when you shoot them. Boring. Also when the dismemberment mod does take effect it makes the deaths more unsettling than fun like in the first game. *edit* Writing this post really makes me nostalgic for the first SOF. I wish I could remember what the hell happened to my copy, as the game is not in Steam or GOG. 
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May 13, 2017 15:46
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Commander Keenan posted:There's a fan release called SoF: Community Edition. It's I'm surprised this isn't abandonware. Ravensoft is relegated to a fate worse than death in making CoD map packs, and it doesn't appear that Activision wants anything more to do with the IP. I'm shocked it can't get on GOG.
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May 14, 2017 18:36
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, but there you go.
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I know we are staying into book chat, but is there a book series based on games that doesn't go batshit insane? I distinctly remember the Halo tie-in novel "Fall of Reach" being a very enjoyable, if cliche book. Last I checked in on the series, they were explaining how ancient space-faring Humans had ancient space-dogs that got infected and became The Flood or some poo poo.
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May 31, 2017 03:31
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There is a fascinating discussion on waypoint regarding the devleopment of the Halo series, and the evolution of Bungie itself. I figured this thread would find it very interesting as a lot of what they talk about is relevant to the evolution of first person shooters / studios of the late 90s/early 2000s. https://waypoint.vice.com/en_us/article/the-complete-untold-history-of-halo-an-oral-history
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May 31, 2017 19:21
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Two Owls posted:I was thinking more of that level with the lasers that would blow up the missile instantly if you broke them. And all the jumping puzzles. And those instadeath fans you had to sidle around. And and and I just really hate its "smush disparate bits together and hope you enjoy some of it rather than doing one thing well" design. Sorry. The missile bunker in "Surface Tension"? I didn't think it was that bad, mostly because the entire sequence is thankfully short. Also "Surface Tension" by default is a top 5 level in FPS history.  I'm excited to see what the Black Mesa team can do for Xen. I'm such a Half-Life fanatic, I feel like I'm in a rare group of people who actually likes the original Xen levels as they stand.
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Jun 29, 2017 13:06
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Levitate posted:Why exactly did they abandon it (I don't know what the ending is like to say whether it needs another episode to wrap things up or what)? I feel like at the time we all hear there were going to be 3 episodes but after 2 they just kinda...got wrapped up in making Steam a big content delivery platform? I don't even know They had concept art come out around late 2008 or so. But since then...nothing. The lead writer has since retired, and lord knows what has happened to many of the devs and voice actors since then (Robert Culp has since passed away). I think Gabe had said something along lines of if he can't come up with game that totally changes the genre like HL1 and HL2 did then he won't do it. Which is a shame, because that HL2EP2 cliffhanger stings.
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Jun 29, 2017 18:06
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Iron Crowned posted:I was about to post something similar. HL is one of the most recognizable titles out there, even putting out something at the upper end of middle of the road would be a money printing machine as a license. You would think that Gabe would look at VR and say "Half-Life 3 can be THE genre-defining game on VR" but honestly I'm wondering if there is any motivation at all for anything Half-Life related at Valve.
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Jun 29, 2017 18:21
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Convex posted:
Agreed. Half-Life is still probably one of my all time favorite single player experience in an FPS. The gun combat has not aged well, at all. However the atmosphere is still very much there. Surface Tension is an all-time great., and I love what the BM team did with it. IF we never get HL3 then so bet it. We'll always have Half-Life 1 and I'm just happy Black Mesa turned out to be really cool (with more to come!).
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Aug 25, 2017 19:15
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Half Life. At least Black Mesa came out (mostly) and is cool.
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The Kins posted:Only $20? I don't understand who is still paying $60 for Ghosts!? Black Ops is still $40 and that's a 7 year old game 
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Aug 29, 2017 18:56
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Vakal posted:While we're on the subject, is there a term in video game design of giving the player the illusion that NPCs actually exist in the game's world and that there are events occurring outside of the players immediate surroundings? I think this is the reason why, despite having terribly outdated graphics, games like System Shock and Half Life remain very enjoyable. The immersion in those types of games is incredible. For example by the time you get to Surface Tension in HL you get the sense that the HECU marines are not just losing, but losing badly. For the levels after that the game actually gets a little quiet because you're only running into isolated groups of leftover marines. Halo does this well too, at least the first one. Say what you will about the flood levels but I always found the Covenant AI to be far more aggressive late game, as if they really are fighting for their very lives against an unstoppable and terrifying force.
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Aug 30, 2017 17:48
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Keiya posted:Man, why does my squad keep shooting me in Opposing Force? I beat Half-Life (for the first time technically, I'd always cheated past the nihilanth as a kid) and rolled on to that expansion and theyjust keep freaking out. Even if I leave them behind, so it's not like I'm clipping them with a bullet on accident. Do they freak out if you kill black ops soldiers or something? That's odd. It's been forever since I played it, but far as I know they will only attack you if attack them, and even then I think they warn you first. They shouldn't freak out about the black ops soldiers, in fact they should be attacking them since the are enemy NPCs. I assume you are playing the steam version? Which reminds me, Opposing Force was the first FPS game I remember playing where not only did you get friendly NPCs to help you, but they were actually kind of useful! I used to fight so hard to make sure none of my fellow marine buddies died in battle, but their aggressive AI made it really hard.
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Sep 1, 2017 13:19
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Keiya posted:Yeah, steam version. It could be that Valve broke it at some point, I know Blue Shift was unplayable for a long time because they broke the elevator early on so that the scientists died in it and you were fired just before the Resonance Cascade. It's possible, I did some google-fu but mostly found issues with the AI pathfinding..but you are right that has always been an issue. I remember they would constantly get stuck or just get themselves killed in a fire fight. Other than the AI, how is it holding up? I'd like to do another Opposing Force/BlueShift play through, and they are short campaigns. However then I see my list of unplayed Steam games in my library...
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Sep 1, 2017 13:53
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catlord posted:
When I do Half Life replays yea, blast pit is pretty annoying. However on an initial play through blast pit is loving terrifying especially with headphones. That CLANK CLANK CLANK sound the tentacles make as they search and feel for you and one hit, one misstep, and you are giblets. Brilliant level design and tension setting.
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Sep 3, 2017 01:34
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The Kins posted:As I understand it, DNF was pretty close to being finished sometime around... 2002? when Broussard had the bright idea to shoehorn Doom 3-style lighting in, requiring pretty much everything to be rebuilt to accommodate it and ushering forth a new age of darkness. It's upsetting because that E3 2001 trailer for DNF looked really good. We will never have any idea how fun it actually would have been, but if the game had come out 2001-2002 timeframe looking and playing as well as that demo had showed, it would have been an all time classic. That makes me think, do we have any other instances of games that had a killer looking demo, and then when it was finally released looked almost nothing like it and was in fact a let down? Best example at the top of my head was the Halo 2 reveal trailer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkCgDIhUJmQ Those stencil shadows! That amazing bump mapping and lighting! Too bad in reality Bungie had pushed the Xbox too hard and it apparently ran like dogshit. The final product had it's moments but I remember thinking the graphics were much muddier, and the lighting not impressive at all.
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Sep 12, 2017 17:09
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site posted:How can you post the halo 2 trailer but not the og halo 1 trailer? I totally forgot about that trailer. I still love it, apparently Halo was envisioned to have this huge open and dynamic world which is the impression this trailer gives off. Really killer stuff for 1999-2000. Of course, the demo itself was all smoke and mirrors. Bungie hadn't even created AI, it was all scripted. There was an article that went into all of this in great detail that I posted earlier, but I for the life of me can't find it again atm.
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Sep 12, 2017 18:11
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Fil5000 posted:Hey, does Unreal 2 count as an "early FPS"? Because I've suddenly got a hankering to play it and I'm wondering if it's worth me grabbing it from GoG. Unreal 2 has to be the most disappointing game I have ever played, from a "I am so excited to play this to "I am bored and this is bad". It was such a tease. The game worlds were so big and beautiful. I remember one level where you are dropped off on this planet. The world is huge and its snowing and in the distance you can see snow-capped mountains as far as the eye can see. "Alright this will be awesome!" You tell yourself as you set out to explore. Unfortunately the game funnels you into a underground base and you shoot spiders for a whole level. I haven't played the game since it came out, so I honestly don't remember much other than just being completely let down. The only cool things I remember were the base defense scenarios, the black hole gun, and the Multiplayer Add-on that was actually a ton of fun! It was sort of a preview for Unreal Tournament 2004 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ly1iiftN0KA Ah found a video of the snow level I was talking about, mostly to prove to myself that I wasn't mis-remembering (starts at 1:56:00) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sudF_Olc2Dg Solaris 2.0 fucked around with this message at 14:35 on Sep 20, 2017 |
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Sep 20, 2017 14:15
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Cream-of-Plenty posted:Man, Unreal 2 started with a bunch of really cool ideas that (for various reasons) wound up on the cutting room floor. What we ended up with felt like it was 70% fighting various human mercenary groups like any other typical FPS, however. What were some of these ideas? I had heard that Unreal 2 had a tumultuous development cycle. It really was a game that looked awesome in previews and screenshots. I remember one article from Computing Gaming World that declared it would be better than Halo and on par with Half Life. It's a shame too, since as one Goon pointed out it really was the last of the "old school" single player FPS games that featured weird enemies and weapons and didn't focus on tactical realism. Too bad the end product was so bland.
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Sep 21, 2017 04:17
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Keiya posted:What's weird is the guns in UT feel great. Like, I basically can't play Quake 3 'cause they feel lame compared to it. Guns in UT actually had some "oompf" behind them. You could one-shot kill with many of the guns if you timed them right. Nothing more satisfying than loading up all 6 rockets and then watching your opponent turn into red mist when you launch them.
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Sep 21, 2017 18:49
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So I'm in total Halloween mode after drinking a few pints of Pumpkin Beer (Don't judge me, I loving love everything fall/octoberfest/Halloween) and I'm in the mood for some old school horror games. Because of this thread I am now reinstalling "They Hunger" since it's been over a decade since I last played it. Any other suggestions for old school FPS horror mods/games I should look at? I'll probably give System Shock 2 another go once it's on sale. *edit* Also maybe I'm dumb (or just drunk) but I cannot figure how to launch They Hunger for the steam version of half life. What I find online says to install in the steamapps\common\Half-Life folder. THEN to create a shortcut of hl.exe and run it with the "-game hunger" parameters. But I cannot for the life of me figure out how to do this. If I change the "target" shortcut to include this parameter, I get an error. *edit 2* I figured it out. I followed this youtube guide (thank God somoene created this) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwAOJ4X1Qho You have to install They Hunger in the Common\Half Life folder. Run the steam patch (its in Spanish) and also point it to the common\half-life folder, then run another fix found on moddb called They Hunger [SteamPipe Patch] v1.1. Time to get scared like its 1999. Solaris 2.0 fucked around with this message at 00:02 on Sep 25, 2017 |
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Sep 24, 2017 23:27
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So last night I ended up doing what I usually do late on Saturday nights after my fiance has gone to bed. I drink more beer, turned on my computer and began searching the internet for I noticed the "Halo PC Custom Edition" icon on my desktop, which I had re- installed some months ago. It's been years since I checked up on the Halo Custom Edition community, so I did a quick google search to see what I could find, expecting nothing more than 1 or 2 fan made maps or a goofy multiplayer mod. What I found instead made me go  Apparently, a group of very dedicated Halo PC fans had spent the better part of the last decade re-creating the original Halo campaign ala Deus Ex Revision style. That re-creation is called Halo SPV3.1 and was just finished in August. http://haloce3.com/downloads/singleplayer/original-singleplayer/spv3-1/ https://www.reddit.com/r/halospv3/ (I know, I know. It's Reddit, but this appears to be the official discussion page for the mod) This thing is, uh, impressive. They added ALOT. The music has been tweaked, the graphics enhanced (I can run Halo on my monitors native 1920x1200 resolution at 60fps which I've never been able to do before) and the weapons, wow they added a lot. I only had time to play through Pillar of Autumn and part of the 2nd level, Halo, last night but so far I am impressed. There are different grenade abilities ala Halo 3, new weapons such as SMGs, they tweaked the Assault Rifle so it isn't a complete POS. There are neat new additions. For example on pillar of autumn you can activate defense "turrets" which will make short work of covenant in a specific area. Also Brutes! You get to fight them too. Speaking of fighting, I played on Legendary (like you are supposed to) and this mod is HARD. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it feels much, much harder than the vanilla game. The enemies seem to have pinpoint accuracy, and they are much more aggressive. It's not necessarily a bad thing, just took some getting used to. There is also a difficulty above legendary called "Noble" but I haven't had the chance to try that yet. I'm sort of back logged playing another game (and distracted by my new SNES classic) but hopefully I can make some headway into this mod later, as the entire campaign has been re-done.
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Oct 1, 2017 14:42
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DatonKallandor posted:SPV3 is cool and good even for someone who's only ever played Halo 1, once, on console, and barely remembers it. My only complain is a complaint I've always had with Halo....the movement speed feels like Master Chief is dragging a loving 747 behind him. It always takes me a good 20 or so minutes playing Halo to get used to how slow Master Chief moves. I wish SPV was able to add some sort of a "sprint" function like there is in Reach, but I also completely understand this might be an engine limitation. That said, it's a minor complaint to what is so far an excellent mod.
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Oct 2, 2017 18:06
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Mordja posted:The release of that big SPV3 mod has made we want to finally give Halo a shot, despite my belief that its influence drat near ruined the FPS genre for almost a decade. Are there any mods or fanpatches I need for it to play nice on a modern PC? I don't know how it "ruined FPS games". I feel like CoD clones were far more annoying but that's a different conversation. As far as the mod, seems to play fine after some tinkering. No additional mods or patches needed. It's all included. I honestly think it runs better than the stock Halo PC game (God was that such a hack job by Gearbox). For reference, I'm running a i56500 at stock speeds and a 1060 6gb and at 1920x1080 it runs fine.
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Oct 16, 2017 04:54
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Mordja posted:Should have clarified, I want to play the original, base Halo before trying SPV3. Ah, well you will want the latest patch which fixes a bunch of issues that Gearbox never dealt with (like active camo not working on nvidi a cards) https://www.bungie.net/en-US/Forums/Post/64943622 Amazingly they released this patch in 2014. You will also need to download Custom Edition for whenever you want to play online / install mods.
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Oct 16, 2017 05:10
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Narcissus1916 posted:I've had no issues with Master Chief Collection whenever I boot it up for some drunken fun. I mostly agree with this. Halo 1-3 multiplayer experiences were pretty relaxed for the most part (Halo 1 is best ). However Call of Duty 4 was released fall 2007 (same as Halo 3) and, well, the rest is history.That said, I think the Pendulum is swinging back in the other direction. I've played Overwatch recently and that was really easy to get into even for a noob like myself. Doom is another example of casual FPS making a come back.
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Oct 19, 2017 12:46
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I think we're being a little harsh on the dude. Yea it's annoying when you take the match super seriously (I know I am in this camp) but if it's a casual round or non-tournament, and he just wants to go in guns blazing with dual pistols for that John Woo feeling, and the game gives him that option, then just deal with it. At the end of the day, it's just a video game.
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Oct 19, 2017 13:36
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haveblue posted:The most fun I've ever had an in MP game was a custom match in one of the Haloes where you respawned with a random weapon and kill counting on the scoreboard was disabled (by selecting one of the objective modes but everyone agreed to ignore it and just shoot each other). No competition, no resentment, just gleefully exploding over and over for as long as everyone wants. Halo 1, Battlecreek, 8 player local LAN, Grenades / Melee only. No this is not a mode you can "select" but it was a rule we forced ourselves to follow and goddamn I don't think I have ever laughed so hard playing video games. Nothing like seeing two dudes go at it trying to punch each other to death and then then 4 or so plasma grenades stuck to them goes off..
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Oct 19, 2017 13:58
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haveblue posted:Halo 2 had a horrible development but it is true that it doesn't reuse environments that much, especially after you get past the Earth levels. Certainly you've seen the last of the levels that are the exact same geometry as before except backwards. "Sacred Icon" and "Quarentine Zone" are some of the worst levels in the series because they are two huge levels, back to back, and contain all of Halo's biggest faults (samey rooms, near infinite waves of enemies, few open battles). The game becomes quite a bit better after those levels but good god, I thought Bungie had learned their lesson after the infamous Library level then you encounter "Sacred Icon" and realized they just made it worse.
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Oct 19, 2017 18:25
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haveblue posted:Almost every weapon in Halo 2 felt weaker than its Halo 1 equivalent. It got a balance patch at once point (back in the days when doing that for a console game was still a highly unusual and newfangled thing) that made things better in PVP, but the campaign still used the old balancing. At least vehicles were still pretty overpowered. Didn't Bungie nerf everything because they really wanted the player to use their dual-wield system? I remember they made a huge deal about it at the time. Unfortunately, dual wielding in Halo is boring because you either use up your ammo way too quickly, or you have zero range. What made Halo 1 so much fun was its grenade/gun/melee combo. In Halo 1, you could toss a plasma grenade on an elite, watch him freak out and run into a pack of grunts and then boom. Instant 5 kills. In Halo 2 you stick the elite with the same grenade and there is a chance all it does it knock out his shields.. To the goon who played Halo 2 , find a way to play Halo 3, even if you have to borrow someone's old 360. It goes back to what made the original campaign so much fun. The missions are varied, the weapons do good damange (and they limit the one-hit-kill bullshit of 2) and the campaign is one big fun campy pop sci-fi ride. Plus taking down a scarab never gets old. Also it's more than dead now, but I have so many fond late night college memories of my roomates and I playing Halo 3 multiplayer until 3 in the morning, on a Tuesday.. Solaris 2.0 fucked around with this message at 22:40 on Oct 23, 2017 |
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Oct 23, 2017 22:38
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skasion posted:Halo 3 campaign is pretty middling and short. It's more polished and cohesive than the first two games but I definitely wouldn't say it recaptures the appeal of the first one. There's the earth levels which are a mixed bag, the flood levels which are extra obnoxious (particularly the latter one), the last level which feels like an off brand pastiche of Halo 1's greatest hits, and the two Ark levels which are actually both good. The whole thing takes maybe 5 or 6 hours and solves very few of the big gameplay problems Halo 2 introduced, and adds a few of its own. It's a good thing the multiplayer was so fun. I definitely wouldn't get a 360 just for it, but if you happen to have a friend who has one in their closet, along with a copy of Halo 3 (and pretty much everyone who had a 360 pre 2010 did). it's worth a play-through. It definitely does not match up to Halo 1, but I had a lot more fun with it than Halo 2. There are some really cool "moments" that, for me, Halo 2 lacked (what you said about the annoying flood levels holds true). Also yes the dual wield is still there, but it definitely is not focused like in Halo 2, and the grenades / weapons get a boost. Also since we're on the topic of Halo, ODST is well worth a play-through as well. Again, the campaign is short (you can bet it in less than 6 hours) but it's essentially a giant homage to Firefly, and the noir atmosphere is neat for the series. It also introduces Firefight, which may be my favorite thing ever from that series.
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Oct 23, 2017 23:09
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Convex posted:HL1 remake Black Mesa is 75% off on Steam (£3.74 / $5) and is really good. Xen isn't included yet but that part of the game was poo poo anyway, the rest is all good and there are some cool mods on the Steam Workshop to add back in some of the cut content. I actually just bought Black Mesa because I felt like the devs deserved some money. I played it when the mod first came out a few years ago and loved it. It really is a great reimagine. My only issue was with the marines, they really beefed up their accuracy and response times and they are a bitch to fight against. I remember I had to edit some text file to slow down their response times because it wasn’t enjoyable to fight them. Did they managed to fix this?
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Dec 23, 2017 05:47
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Al Cu Ad Solte posted:I'm nearing the endgame of Deus Ex. Haven't played through in a while, so I thought it would be a neat way to close out the year. I think most would agree that merging with Helios is the most “canonical” ending given JC’s character. Plus with the state of our current world seemingly matching up with that of Deus Ex’s i, for one, would be ok bowing down to my new JC/Helios overlord.
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Dec 24, 2017 16:47
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It's a god drat shame because while Human Revolution had many flaws (including the lack of real choice with the ending) at it's core it captured the spirit of Deus Ex. I really thought it laid a great groundwork to build further upon the Deus Ex world, and the whole "What does it really mean to be human" angle could have been played to great effect. Then Mankind Divided happened, and welp.
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Dec 24, 2017 18:10
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RE AI chat. A trend I've noticed recently in modern FPS games is a complete focus away from interesting AI. I recently played two otherwise very well done shooters, Titanfall 2 and Wolfenstein TNC. However, the AI in those games left me feeling empty. Once I figured out the basic behaviors of the game's human enemies, I never felt particularly challenged or threatned by them. If anything, AI design feels like it has regressed to 1990s levels. In both Titanfall and Wolfenstein you could pick a chokepoint, pop a few rounds at the enemy AI, then retreat to your chokepoint and pick off the enemy AI as the inevitably come blindly charging towards you. This is offset a bit in Titanfall due to the fast-paced nature of the game, but it is glaring in Wolfenstein. At no point did I feel like the AI would work together, try to flank me, or hell just toss a grenade or two into my chokepoint and be done with me. It's infuriating, I love a good cat-n-mouse game against good AI in my FPS games and I just haven't gotten it the last few years. Whoever mentioned how FEAR's AI seems smart because the AI favors self-preservation was spot on. Games become immensely more engrossing when you get the sense the enemy you are fighting against is fighting for their very survival and is not just mere cannon fodder. I know I praise Halo a lot in this thread, but the main reason for it is the battles against the AI enemies. This guy does into detail about the behaviors of the covenant AI, and they approach the player. He actually has several videos on enemy AI (including FEAR) and they are all worth a watch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NU717sd8oUc
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Feb 3, 2018 17:46
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Shadow Hog posted:Based on my research earlier today, that isn't actually particularly true; Creative did an implementation of A3D 1.0 (no idea how good an implementation, but an implementation nonetheless), but A3D 2.0 remains locked to actual Aureal Vortex 2 sound cards, and A3D 2.0 is significantly more impressive (see HolyKrap's video). Unless you are into digital audio mixing or you are using >$1k worth of audio equipment, would using a dedicated sound card even make a difference these days? I distinctly remember begging my parents for a Soundblaster Live! when I built my first PC back in 1999 because it was the only way to get not lovely sound. Also the adds in gaming mags at the time had a noticeable effect... However, and I feel like I’m in the majority here, every gaming rig I’ve built since like 2005 has used the motherboard for sound and it’s....fine? Games, music, video all sound great, even with headphones. I’m pushing mid 30s now so maybe I’m also just getting too old to notice?
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Mar 24, 2018 03:19
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Guillermus posted:I've been using my SB Audigy 2 for a loooong time already and I do notice the difference when using my motherboard one. Like just the output power on the sound blaster is higher and it never ever have distortion. I like playing with headphones and being able to play some older games with EAX is cool to keep my ancient PCI card around. Considering that a sound card isn't expensive nowadays, when I get to build a newer PC (my motherboard is from 2011), I'll get a cheap sound blaster or whatever over integrated one. More so when I still remember that I had to use my SB over integrated when games like BF3 stressed them too much that they needed a patch to not crash on integrated. I do miss EAX in the older games I play, but I recently bought a Gamecom 788 USB headset for cheap and I must say, I've been really happy with it. But yea, I don't know what you call it, but I sort of miss the "sound" wars between A3D and Creative of the late 90s. In a way it mirrored the 3D wars going on between Nvidia/ATI/3DFX at the time. With every major new game, you spent just as much time gushing over the cool new tech (5.1 EAX sound! 32bit color! Dynamic lighting!) as you did the gameplay. Hell this review maks it seem like you couldn't possibly play Half-Life without A3D 2.0 (and they were right lol) https://books.google.com/books?id=I...20world&f=false
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Mar 24, 2018 15:13
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